Fluid-pressure door opener and closer.



PATENTED APR 3, 1906.

A. M. sPINK. I FLUID PRESSURE DOOR OPENER AND ULO$ER.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 20,1905.

1 1 M 75 7 a g If: 67 o L FLUlDrPIRESSURjE DOOH OPENIEH AND @ILOSER.

are. 817,014.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. April 8, 1906.

Application filed October 20,1905. Serial No. 283,697.

To all whom it may concern.- Be it known that I, ARTHUR M. SPINK, a citizen of the United States, residing in the .city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fluid-Pressure Door Openers and Closers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for opening and closing doors, and es ecially for operating doors in flats and the lke, where the door is often situated at the bottom of a stairway or at some remote point and it is not desired 0 to have to descend the stairs always to open the door from the inside.

The object of the invention is to rovide a simple, chea practical, and noise ess door opener and'c oser which is easy of operation, which can be readily gotten at and repaired if anything oes Wrong without having to tear out the who e side of the wall, and which will keep the door under perfect control at all times, so that it may be opened more or less, as desired. g i

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and the combination of parts, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawing, in which the figure represents in eleva' tion, with parts broken aWay a door opening and closing apparatus ernbo ying my invention. 1

' In practicingmy invention I employ two apparatuses, each practically the counterpart of the other and disposed one adjacent to the door and the other situated at some oint remote from the door, as the top of the anding or whereverthe movements of. the door are to 'be controlled 'from. The former apparatus com rises a cylinder A, having the heads 2, suitab ysecured to a fixed'support. The cylinder'contains a double piston 3, the two pistons in the cylinder being connected by aror .4. The .cylinder is slotted between the pistons for an arm 5 to work in, which con nects with the rod 4. A pitman 6 connects with the arm 5 and with a trussed lever 7, here shown as of the third class and as pivoted at 8. The free end of the lever connects by a link 9 with the door 10, which is. hinged in the ordinary manner, as, at 11. The opposite ends of the cylinder are; nnected throughthe heads by the small eqgihlfizingipe 12, in which is a cook 13. Admitting: ind under pressure into one end of the two ends oi t cylinder against the piston and allowing for discharge of the fluid from the opposite end of the. cylinder will operate the piston to close the door. Reversing the o eration will open the door. The upstairs apparatus or that by which the actual operation of the door is controlled comprises a similar cylinder A, piston 3, pitman 6, and operatinglever 7. The lever ends of the two cylinders are connected by a pipe 14, and the corresponding opposite ends of the two cylinders are connected by a pipe 15.

Both of the c linders and the pipes 14 15 are set in the wa ls of the building, the lever 7 of the downstairs apparatus bein arran ed horizontally and working in a s ot in thefimse-board 16 and the operating-lever 7' of the upstairs apparatus being disposed vertically and connected to a handle 17, which operates in a slot in plate 18, set in or secured to the wall.

When the machine is set up, oil or other suitable liquid is pum ed into the lower cylinder; and. made to circulate through both 0- linders and through all the pipes until all tlie air. is expelled and all parts are filled. The equalizing-pipes 12 12 enable the handle 17 to be set properly by getting the necessary uantity of oil in both'e'n'ds'of he valves 13 13 are then closed and remain closed. Thenceforth circulation is between corresponding ends of the two cylinders through the 1pipe 14 15 and not between the e same cylinder. While I have shown each cylinder as having an equalizingipe and valve, it is only necessary, in fact, For one cylinder to be so provided.

The parts bein in position, as shown, with the door closed ,t e o eration of the device is as followszTo, open t e door, the operatinghandle 17 is -moved to the right, which causes the oil or other fluid to pass from the right 0th cylinders;

end of thecylinder A through pipe 14 into the right end of the c linder A to act to move the piston 3 to the le t, expel the oil from the opposite end of cylinder Athrough ipe 15 into the suction end of cylinder A. and to pull on the door and 0 on it. Prior to the opening of the door t e latch must be released from its keeper, and'this is done by fluid- The other side is fluid-pressure in pipe 19.

The piston has a acted on by a spring 22.

stem or rod 23 on thespring side extending out through the head and in line with and in the pathof the latch 24. When the rod' 23 is pushed out by fluid-pressure in ipes 14- 19,

it will carry the end of the latch out flush with or beyond the inside of the jamb so that so obstruction is offered to the opening of the oor.

While thelinkQ might be in one inflexible piece, I prefer to joint it, as shown, so that the door may be opened by turning the knob without having to work the whole apparatus. If a stiff link were used, it would necessitate the eration of the pistons in each cylinder and t e corresponding movement of all the parts of both machines each time the door is.

opened. This might prove objectionable. By

7 jointing the link as shown and having the twosections stand sli htly out of line when straightened to their llest extent the door may be opened by hand without afiecting' the apparatus. By providing a suitable stifi spring 9', acting normally to straighten the link-sections, it enables, primarily, an articulated link of this character to exert a sufficient push to close the door.

To close the door, thehandle 17 is turned to the left, forcing the fluid from that end of cylinder -A through pi e back into the corres onding end of cy inder A and drawing the o' from thefopposite end of cylinder A and from cylinder 20 up through pipe 14 into cylinder A As'soon as pressure 1s released on the fluid in pipes 14 19 and cylinder 20 the spring 2-2 operates to. retract the stem 23 and ow the at'ch to enga c with its keeper.

The spring 9 acts not'o y to straighten the link to close the door, but it relieves shock'to the apparatus in case thehandle17 is moved very rapidly or faster than corresponds to the closing movement of the door. v

The door may be sto pod and held atl any point in its 0 ening or c osing movements and 1s always un er perfect control.

" By interposing a cock, as 25, in one or the other of the pipes 14 15 it is possible by turning this cock when the door is closed to prevent its opening or to hold-it open at any oint'.

It is possible that various modifications in my invention may be made without departing from the principle thereof, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself beyond the reasonable construction of my "blaims.

4 Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat- 611i], i

, 1, In a.door closing and opening means the combination with a hinged door, of a cylinder slotted intermediate of its ends, a double piston 1n the cylinder, a p tman operating between the corresponding endspf the two 1 o ternately into opposite ends of the cylinder to open and close the door.

2. In door closing and opening means, the combination with a hinged door, of a fluidpressure cylinder, a double-ended piston in said cylinder, a pitman connected with the piston, a lever fulcrumed to a fixed point of support and pivoted'to the pitman, a link connecting the lever and door, and fluidpressure mechanism connected with opposite ends of said cylinder for operating the piston to open and close the door, said mechanism including a second 'cylinder and doubleended piston and pipes connecting the ends of one cylinder with corresponding ends of the other cylinder.

3. In door openin and closing means, the combination with a hinged door, of a fluidpressure cylinder, a piston operating in each end of the cylinder, a piston-rod connecting the two pistons, said cylinder slotted intermediate of said pistons, a pitman exterior to the piston and connected to the piston-rod through said slot, a lever of the third class connected with the p-itman, a link connecting the door and lever, fluid connections between the opposite ends of the. cylinder, and means for operating. the piston to 0 en and close the door,- said mechanism inc uding a second cylinder and double-ended piston and pipes connecting the ends of onecylinder with corresponding ends of the:

, other cylinder.

4. In a door opening and closing. means, i the combination oftwo fluid-pressure cylinders, a piston operable in eaeh cylinder,

means connecting one end of one cylinder with the same end of the other cylinder whereby the fluid ex elled from one end of one cylinder by the piston of that cylinder is delivered into the same end of the other cyl- V inder to move the piston thereof in adirection 0 posite to the movement of-the-firstnamed piston, and means connected with each piston said last-named means including a pitman, and a lever to which said pitman is connected, and connections between one of the levers and the door.

5. In door opening and closing means, the combination wit a hinged door having a latch-bolt, and a eeper for the latter, of two fluid-pressure cylinders, a piston in each cyl-" inder, a pitman connected with each piston,

an'operating-lever connected with one piston, connectlons between the other piston, andthe door to open enclose the latter on the ,rec1p1ocat1on of sald piston, fluid connections b said operating-lever to release the latch to a low the door to open.

6. In door-iopenlng and closing means, the combination with a door having a latch-bolt, of two fluid-pressure cylinders, fluid connections between corresponding ends of the two cylinders, valved connections between the opposite ends of one of-the cylinders, a piston in each cylinder, an operating-lever connected with one piston, and connections between the other piston and the door to 0 en or close the latter on the oscillation of t e operating-lever, and fluid-pressure means controlled by the lever to release the latchbolt to allow the door to open.

7. In door opening and closing means, the combination with a door, the latch thereof, anda keeper, of two fluid-pressure c linders, fluid connections between correspon 'ng ends nofsaid cylinders, a piston in each cylinder,

an operating-lever connected with one piston, connections between the other piston and the door, and fiuidressure-actuated mechanism connected wit the cylinders to release the latch.

8. In door openin and closin means, the combination witha oor, of a cyIinder, a piston therein, a lever connected with the piston, and spring-actuated articulated connections between the lever and door, and means for reciprocating the piston.

9. In door openin and closin means, the combination with a o'or, of a cy inder, a piston therein, a lever, a jointed link connecting the lever'and door, means operating on the link to tend to straighten the sections thereof, and means for reciprocating the piston.

10L'In door opening and closing means, the combination with a door, of a cylinder, a piston therein, a lever connected with the piston, -means for reciprocating the latter, and resilient connections between the lever and door, said connections causing the door to move in unison with the lever on the reciprocation of the piston in one direction and ermitting a limited movement of the door independent of the movement of the piston.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR M, SPINK.

Witnesses D. B. RICHARDS, J. E. RAPHAEL. 

